John Curl's Blowtorch preamplifier part II

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At the same time I don't see how you or anyone can make any real conclusions from a U-tube video of unknown sound quality? Perhaps you can tell that two sound tracks sound different but I wouldn't put any other weight to it than that. I surely wouldn't compare any speakers based on a U-tube video.

You have put too many assumptions here. And you also assume that anything anyone can do, you can do too, and anything you cannot do, anyone can't either. (You use "I" for the subject but the tone is different).

When Frank said the sound was terrible, it wasn't based on the YouTube video but the real one.
 
At the same time I don't see how you or anyone can make any real conclusions from a U-tube video of unknown sound quality? Perhaps you can tell that two sound tracks sound different but I wouldn't put any other weight to it than that. I surely wouldn't compare any speakers based on a U-tube video.
Obviously you can't determine the absolute, or the, what it would truly sound like in the flesh, quality from that video - but I'm looking out for signature characteristics, distortion 'fingermarks' in the sound - which still come clearly through in the clip, for me at least. And that's what I'm going on ...

I did hear the Sasha's recently in the flesh, driven by Gryphon electronics - and they weren't too bad, compared to the normal hifi standard - the usual edginess, obviously hifi sound - but tolerable in small doses ... :p
 
Jay,
I was just saying that I know I couldn't determine the sound of any speaker by listening to a speaker on u-tube through a second set of speakers. I wasn't talking about let's say the Sasha speaker from a video, I would never do that.

I have measured the focal drivers and there was incredible resonance above 16khz and that was using a 1/4" B&K microphone flat to 100khz or there abouts. These were earlier titanium models so perhaps the Be models aren't as bad. This was in a friends lab with many high dollar B&K instruments and log chirp analysis. It answered the question why I keep feeling something wasn't right and the very fatiguing sound after not that long a time of listening.
 
Jay,
I was just saying that I know I couldn't determine the sound of any speaker by listening to a speaker on u-tube through a second set of speakers. I wasn't talking about let's say the Sasha speaker from a video, I would never do that.

It's okay then if it's about yourself. There are still information to be used as useful data even in a YouTube video.

I have measured the focal drivers and there was incredible resonance above 16khz and that was using a 1/4" B&K microphone flat to 100khz or there abouts. These were earlier titanium models so perhaps the Be models aren't as bad. This was in a friends lab with many high dollar B&K instruments and log chirp analysis. It answered the question why I keep feeling something wasn't right and the very fatiguing sound after not that long a time of listening.

You can consult stereophile aka John Atkinson for many commercial speaker measurements. All show that 16kHz peak. What they don't seem to understand is that even in the "threshold" of audibility such peak is "audible".

We are lucky to know what will add and what will subtract from listening enjoyment.
 
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I have read the PSU pin decoupling caps recommended in the data sheets is often not sufficient. How do you go about determining optimum values? Also, with regards to ocillations and output resistance or input filtering. How do determine what is needed at the design level?

I use SMD device and SMD decoupling caps 10 uF and 0.1 uF on each rail and place ground plane under the device.
 
I use SMD device and SMD decoupling caps 10 uF and 0.1 uF on each rail and place ground plane under the device.
I am sure the above is usually adequate for most applications, but
You can go one step further and cover the higher frequency range by using a 1nF &/or 100pF, as well. This is documented in a number of app notes. You have to be weary of the inductance of vias, in some cases as well, so it is advantageous to have a top layer ground plane to minimize these effects. A good high-speed digital design usually sandwiches TL nets (strip-lines) into buried layers surrounded by ground/power planes. Intel has some great app notes/design guides on high speed layout techniques.
But then again, this is an audio design forum isn't it :) which seems to be more focused on the merits of a low Z speaker wire.
 
Lipshitz demonstrated this (the need for 0.1dB matching) in the '70s, Clark shortly thereafter, and it may not have even been new then.

Have you ever seen real data provided by Lipshitz to back this up?
I´ve read his assertion in the 80´s but was never able to find a documentation about a controlled listening test.

Clark mentioned in his JAES publication ABX results done with real music, but afair again no further information was provided about the number of listeners, music or the reproduction chain.
His results were more about 0.25 - 0.3dB for level differences and slightly lower if a 3 octave wide difference was considered (at least in the most sensitive region of the ear).

Much later Frindle reported ABX results down to 0.1dB with music excerpts but again without further information.
 
Small case size X7R MLCC ceramic, your best friend for decoupling. There is a host of app notes from both IC and Capacitor manufacturers covering these issues. There is also software available for the major CAD packages that will simulate the power delivery system and give feedback on the supplies in a graphical form.
With the speed of todays devices (rise time) and todays RF rich world correct decoupling is paramount and is a documented.
With high speed digital it is also important to have interplane capacitance for your power supplies, this can be more critical that decoupler's on some designs.
 
166 mOhms (20m 14 gauge) not 300

8R3 per kilometer, 20m round trip, so yes, you're correct, my memory was faulty. Still, not "tens of milliohms."

Kindhornman said:
Seems that 10 meters, (30 feet app.) from power amp to speakers per side is rather long?

Somewhat, but not unreasonably so. Rich people have bigger rooms than mine. FWIW, my speaker wires are about 5m.
 
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It has little to nothing to do with the series R. Its the Z... mostly L.

Try this...... test for distortion with a speaker and 20 feet of zip cord of say 18 guage.

measure the distortion at the amp terminals and also at the speaker terminals, 20 feet down line.

This was shown to me by Barry Thornton (ESS engineer) using a Sound Technolgy 1700 analyzer around 1970 at his hotel room during CES in L.V. he wanted me to explain it, if I could.

The distortion was very much higher at the speaker end. I've never tried it myself since then. But I am still surprised by those results.


Thx-RNMarsh
 
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It has little to nothing to do with the series R.

Greiner's data and analysis, a few hundred published Stereophile measurements, and a bazillion sims say otherwise. Frequency response errors sometimes well into the range where they can be heard.

I think you need to provide more information if you're saying that there's enough distortion difference to be well within commonly accepted audibility thresholds.
 
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